An elderly man and his grandson were sitting on a bench in front of a gas station. They were just watching the people go by as they sipped their drinks. Soon a man walked by as he was going to pay for his gas. He asked the elderly man, “What’s it like in your town?” The elderly man responded, “Well, like any other. What’s yours like. The man sourly responded that he was tired of all of the politics, the litter on the street and the snooty neighbors. The elderly man responded, “Yes, that is just like it is here.” Not long after, another gentleman stopped and greeted the pair on the bench. “What is it like in this town?” The elderly man responded, “Like any other. What is yours like?” The second man cheerfully answered that his town we clean and friendly, a nice place to visit, live and raise children. The elderly man replied, “Yep, just like here!” The confused grandson could hardly wait until the man was out of earshot when he asked,“Grandpa, how come you told the one man that this was a sour town and the second that this was a great town?” A Grandfatherly smile came across the wise, old man’s face. “Your town is what you make of it. If you think it is sour, it will be sour. If you think it is great, it will be great.”

The same question can be asked of Zion. What kind of Church is Zion? There are some who would answer like the first man in our story. There are others who would answer like the second. But, to borrow a line from Jesus, what about you? What is YOUR Church like? Do you see it as a place where you go to get only what you can get out of it? Do you see it as a place that is always bickering and looking for money?

Or do you see it as a place where Jesus comes to His people and gives them the precious gifts of life and salvation? The answer is that Zion is a place where Jesus comes to bring life and salvation. The Word of God is taught in its truth and purity and the Holy Sacraments are administered according to their institution by Christ. We are committed to the study of the Bible as evidenced by our recent start of the Christ Care Groups as well as our ongoing Sunday, Thursday and Saturday groups.

We are also a Church of the Lutheran Confessions. We are not ashamed to be Lutheran Christians. Some mistake our holding to these historic teaching as arrogance. This is hardly the case. We don’t claim to be better than any other Christian body. We simply claim to be who God made us to be. Lutheran Christians who are assembled by the Holy Spirit in this place to receive what the Lord has promised–His Gospel. That Gospel comes in the means of grace–The Bible, and the Sacraments. Now there are many teachings of the church that many in our world will not like or understand, unless they walk a mile in our shoes.

We claim that the Bible is the only source of what we do in worship and the faith we confess. If the Bible teaches something, we don’t have the right to set it aside if we don’t like it. Like Luther so many centuries ago, our conscience is held captive to the Word of God. This is who we are. It is what God has made us to be. So what is it like in YOUR church? It is what Jesus makes it to be. A place where grace abounds. It won’t be perfect, but it will have Christ present. Not in how we feel, but in how Christ promises–in His Word and in the Holy Supper. God bless us as we cling to this faithfulness!